Tag Archives

I am a wedding designer, and proud of it. In fact it is my true passion in this world of wedding planning. I adore the puzzle of linens, centerpieces, furniture, colors, and floor plans that makes a wedding come to life. I am known for having a vision, or a directed path when designing a wedding, but I am always tweaking, researching, experimenting to really make the design as perfect as it can be. The opportunity for me to attend a lecture by my wedding designer/planner icon, Tara Geurard, came about. I don’t think I could have jumped in my car faster on the day of the lecture. Still, it was one of the best days of my career, and for many reasons. The main reason that this day, this lecture was the best is because it ignited inspiration in me.

Before Pinterest there was imagination in creating wedding designs. There was creativity in deciding the centerpieces and place cards. Since Pinterest my wedding world had become a world of “replicate this lanterns, with this greenery, and these favors.” Personalization was falling away and replication was taking its place. After listening to Tara, and hearing about her creative process, I was asking myself “why am I letting Pinterest dictate my talent? Why shouldn’t I let Pinterest turn off my creativity and imagination?” So away I went to sketch, build, and spray paint. In a matter of just 24 hours I had 5 designs in my head. Over the next 5 months I tweaked, twisted, defined, and edited these designs. on August 22, 2017 I saw them finally come to life.

On August 22nd a bandwagon of vendors came together, and made my wedding designs, my ideas come to life. Now it wasn’t easy, and it came with challenges, but in the end I was proud of all the work and effort. I was extremely proud and thankful for my family and friends who sweated and paid a physical price for me and my creativity. I could not have done all this with out you! I couldn’t have asked for better colleagues who joined in, and gladly tried to make the design in my head come to life. Many times I was asked “do you have a photo of this idea, or a point of reference?” I would smile and simply say “nope, its in my head!”

I’m not a simply designer, I’m not a cookie cutter planner. I am a “go big or go home” person. So, I was determined to produce all 5 designs, photograph them, and break it all down in one day. Thanks to the Kincaid House in Clinton, TN and its coordinator Melissa Charles, we were able to do it! The Kincaid House’s property allowed me to set-up all the designs in different areas but still in the same location.

Here is just a taste of the different designs. I will blog about each individual one later. There is too much to say about each design. The designs were created from a love of home improvement; the life of broke newlyweds; the infatuation of the blush color; the hospitality and trends of southern women; the celebration of family; and the styles of bold classic fashion.

I want to especially thank Samuel Franklin Florist. Sam and his staff have been an amazing team to work with. Sam is my go to, see it through, no idea is too crazy guy. He has been such a support thru my whole career, and continues to be my main man. Sherri and his crew go above and beyond any of my requests. They were out in the heat helping set-up chairs, moving props, and doing anything I asked of them. I can’t say thank you enough to Sam and his amazing crew!

If you are interested in more about this photo shoot; more wedding design; how your wedding can be personalized, or how we can help you in anyway with your wedding event go over to livelaughloveweddings.com. I would be happy to your wedding memorable to you and to your guests!

“Come with me, and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination. Take a look and you’ll see into your imagination.”

-Willy Wonka

I find myself staring at a wall or table, and wondering “There must be something I could do with that.” I reach for a tech device, click my Pinterest button, and get lost in a world where wooden pallets become chairs, chairs become night stands, and a night stand becomes a kitchen. It is a world that can stretch, deepen, and enhance your imaginative mind; or it can be a world that consumes you and you lose your own imagination.

As a wedding designer it is my job to take a person’s style, interests, ideas and make them into an environment that reflects one of the most important days in their life, a wedding. When I started as a wedding designer there was no Pinterest. You flipped through magazines or watched reality TV to find the latest trends. Big trends beginning in NYC or LA didn’t reach little Knoxville til 2 years later. It always fun to design for bridal shows. You could make your booth/display completely out of your imagination, and get brides to think “huh! Thats different.” It could be purple, yellow, all black or all white. It was always exciting to see what people would dream up. Now we have pinterest to filter to us the latest trends, and we get them as quick as we can. The pantone color of the year” greenery, the latest dress style: grace kelley/lace; the trend of weddings; copper. It is all at your fingertips, no imagination required. Weddings seem to be more about replicating a photo, and less about expressing personality.

Now don’t get me wrong. I who hold a Bachelor’s in Art find myself searching Pinterest many times a day for various projects. I too have lost a since of imagination. My goal now is to awaken my old imagination. I urge you to do the same. Find the latest trends and ideas, and apply them to your wedding. Just remember you are not like everyone else, you want your wedding to be special, set apart. Use Pinterest as a taking off point. So, copper is the latest trend, how you use it is key. Are you a bride who serves a cocktail in a moscow mule mug, or are you a bride with a sweet tooth who will fill it with krispy kreme bread pudding? Are you a spreadsheet type person who will use copper geometric lanterns for centerpeices; or will you be adventurous and copper spray paint your grandmothers teapot as a memory to her.

I urge you to use Pinterest, and discover a world of imagination. I also urge you to deepen your imagination and go one step further than Pinterest. The world of weddings can be endless, it is important not to lose you and your imagination in such a giant world.

After saying “Yes!” to your prince charming, choosing a color scheme should be the first thing that happens when planning a wedding. Color schemes set the tone and style of your wedding, everything is planned around them: the invitations, the flowers, the cake, the linens, the dresses. To some Brides, picking out a color scheme is no task at all, but to some it can be slightly aggravating.

Here are a few ideas on how to choose a color scheme:

Summer, Spring, Winter, or Fall?

There are a few questions you should ask yourself to help narrow down to a specific color scheme. One suggestion is to take some inspiration from colors that you usually see in a specific season. For example, a Winter wedding could tie from holiday décor with bolder colors like deep reds with accents of whites, icy blues or silver. Design websites like Polyvore, are great because they can help you design beautiful color schemes for your wedding.

Home Improvement

One of the best ways to pick out a color scheme is to head to a home improvement store and walk down the paint isle. Stores like Home Depot and Lowes offer free paint chip samples in a variety of color families. What’s awesome about this is a paint swatch usually has a lighter shade, a darker shade, and a more neutral option all on one sample. You can also go to a fabric store like Jo-Ann or Hobby Lobby and ask for an associate to cut you a fabric swatch; there may or may not be a charge for this but it should be no more than a dollar and some change.

Childhood Flick

Is there a favorite movie you watched over and over growing up? Take some inspiration from a favorite childhood film, and use it as part of your color scheme. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the focus of the design, but it could be used as an accent color. One of my Brides loved the Wizard of Oz growing up, so for her wedding she tied in small accents of red. Florist, Samuel Franklin, added coffee berries to the bouquets, the groomsmen wore red ties, and the groom tied in his sense of style by wearing Red Converse shoes that complimented her Ruby pumps!

Cover art

If you or your fiancé are art lovers, consider taking a favorite painting and using that to design your wedding. Take a close look at what colors and shades the artist used to compliment the main subject in the piece. Do the same thing with a favorite book jacket or a CD cover.